1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for securing a sitting person in an upright position by adjustable and easily removable means.
2. Background Information
Means for securing persons safely within a chair have long been studied and developed, with particular attention paid to the safety, dignity, and liberty needs of medical and nursing home patients. Under normal circumstances, the chaired person desires, and must be able, to free him or herself from the safety device and chair. Further, in medical and nursing home environments, federal law prohibits the use of restraints, except under special circumstances. See, e.g., 42 USC 1395i-3(c)(1)(A)(ii)("a skilled nursing facility must protect and promote the rights of each resident, including . . . the [right to be] . . . [f]ree from . . . any physical . . . restraints . . . ").
The following disclosure will point out those patents related thereto of which Applicant is aware. Most devices act to belt in the chaired person at the waist and fail to provide means for stabilizing the person's torso in the upright, vertical plane. This is a matter of singular importance to any person suffering from weakness, paralysis, muscular dystrophy, or the like, whose torso is caused to slump sideways while seated in the chair and secured only by a traditional wheelchair lap belt. Further, most devices require permanent attachment to the chair and are not easily removable for cleaning, strap replacement, or temporary use on another chair. The present invention provides a positioning and securing means for permitting the use of a chair, particularly a wheelchair, in a more dignified, fully upright manner. Additionally, the invention can be easily attached to, and removed from the wheelchair, without tying. The apparatus can be made from machine-washable material. The three straps are individually removable and replaceable. The invention can accept a variety of strap fastening and length-adjusting means, to allow for use under a variety of circumstances. For persons with use of their arms and hands, the apparatus can be used without any assistance by others.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,807 issued Dec. 11, 1979 to Ocel et al. describes a device that permanently secures to the back of a wheel chair, hospital bed or the like, reaches around to encompass a person sitting in the wheel chair, hospital bed or the like, and then attaches the distal end thereof to the proximal end of the device by means of Velcro fasteners. Means for positioning a person's torso in the vertical plane are not provided. The device has a structure specifically designed to prevent a person strapped therein, from making egress therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,046 issued Jun. 19, 1984 to Linderoth describes a safety device permanently affixed to a wheelchair, that combines a seat belt used to secure a person within the wheel chair, with a securing mechanism interconnected between the wheel chair and a hold-down component on a transport vehicle such as a train coach, ship or aircraft. Means for positioning a person's torso in the vertical plane are not provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,852 issued Mar. 29, 1994 to Morales-Quintero describes a one-piece removable security harness for a wheel chair or a bed comprising a crotch panel combined with a waist strap and contiguous front and rear panels into which a person is placed, together with respective pairs of straps that extend from the front and rear panels and must be tied to the pushing handles of a wheel chair or the sides of a bed. This device must be put on the person first, before the device is secured to the support chair or bed. The device does not enable the person so held to access conveniently the means for disconnecting or removing the device, and hence acts as a restraint. The one-piece ensemble does not allow for immediate single strap replacement or washing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,398 issued May 6, 1997 to Wooldridge describes a safety strap that is permanently affixed to a chair and may be wrapped around a person sitting in a wheel chair and secured at the back thereof. No means for positioning a person's torso in the vertical plane are provided, and the inaccessibility of the securement means, to the person in the chair, causes this device to act as a restraint.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,843 issued Mar. 17, 1998 to LaTrace describes a seat belt permanently affixed and extending upwards from below the seating area of a four-wheeled comfort chair, the seat belt having a release mechanism the same as those currently common in motor vehicles. Means for positioning a person's torso in the vertical plane are not provided.
Based upon the foregoing, there has been a need for a removable safety device for securing a person in a chair in a manner that stabilizes and positions the person's torso in the vertical plane, and allows for easy egress therefrom. Such a device is shown and described in the present application.